Today, my beautiful wife and best friend enters Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center to receive the greatest gift that any leukemia patient can be given: a bone marrow transplant and a second chance at life with a new DNA from a very generous (and anonymous) donor from somewhere out there in this wonderful world.

We’ve received so many cards, letters, emails, Facebook and Twitter mentions via #JennStrong – the sheer volume of love that has flowed in the direction of Jennifer Ford Aparicio over the past 90 days has been staggering and eye-opening – and we want to first just express our gratitude for all of the concern and offers of kindness and sweet gestures. As awful as some our experiences have been with people over the years, this time in our lives will always be remembered for the good (if not the BEST) in people, especially when some days the burden felt very heavy for us.

The love has truly been medicinal on some days when she struggled physically and emotionally. Make no mistake about it, this has been heavy lifting in so many ways.

We’ve been peppered with so many questions and concerns regarding her health and honestly don’t know where to begin with dispensing some of the more amazing – and at times “gruesome” for the queasy amongst us – information regarding blood cancer, leukemia and bone marrow transplants. I’m probably the biggest wuss on the planet when it comes to the mention or sight of blood (and Jenn is diabetic to begin with) so this whole thing has been like seeing snakes for me from the beginning.

But here’s what you really need to know and hopefully this blog answers some of the FAQs of the #JennStrong bone marrow transplant:

Jenn enters the hospital today and will undergo a week of chemotherapy in preparation for her bone marrow transplant next Tuesday, June 17. (This will be her new “birthday.”) There is no “surgery” – just a bag of stem cells and blood that gets attached to her via her port, a pair of tubes that were inserted into her back on March 21st.

Our understanding is that there are many less than desirable outcomes that could result from this procedure – there are whole handbooks on Graft vs. Host Disease and other scary complications. Our doctors have been steadfast in their belief that she’s a great candidate for this procedure and that a perfect match and new DNA and bone marrow could give her a whole new lease on life over the next six months. They were also very sobering in their discussions of all of the percentages of living vs. dying, cure vs. recurrence of cancer and various ailments that could exist or take place during the next few weeks.

But it’s also very clear that this is Jenn’s only chance to survive because even though she’s in remission and cancer free right now, her pathology indicated that her specific leukemia would certainly come roaring back before the end of football season.

Last week a dear friend and client went to breakfast with us and began the conversation by saying, “Wow, you guys have been through a lot of bad stuff!” And we said, “Sure, but let’s examine where we were three months ago and the amazing place where we are now.”

There are a few of you who I’m assuming were forced to find a new baseball team to root for Sunday night.

Actually, I’m probably speaking to a smaller audience as many of you jumped ship to become fans of the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees or Washington Nationals or some other team.

No? So you’re telling me you don’t know ANYONE who posted something on Saturday night saying something along the lines of “If the Orioles don’t put one in Jose Bautista’s ear Sunday I’ll lose all respect for Buck Showalter and stop rooting for them”?

I’m not talking about a large group of people who suggested they would swear off the team. There were certainly a few, and many more who suggested they would lose respect for the skipper even if they didn’t stop rooting for the team.

The Baltimore Orioles were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, a disappointing series outcome even against a red hot Jays team that has now won 11 straight games. In Saturday’s 4-2 loss, Jose Bautista hit a tie-breaking two run bomb in the 8th inning. As he rounded third base, Bautista offered the following gesture to Birds reliever Darren O’Day…

It was immediately pointed out by many that O’Day had been a bit animated himself Friday night when he recorded a big seventh inning strikeout of Bautista in the Birds’ 7-6 loss. However quite a few Birds fans (clearly frustrated by seeing the bullpen falter for the second consecutive evening) took to social media to suggest Bautista’s gesture fell into the area of baseball’s “unwritten rules” and meant an O’s pitcher might need to go head hunting Sunday.

I immediately responded to those thoughts with a post at the WNST.net Facebook page Saturday afternoon…

I would share the responses to my post, but they aren’t particularly family friendly. I mean, am I even allowed to share “Go Fist Yourself” as one particularly deranged commenter suggested I do?

Multiple posts suggested I was unaware of baseball’s “unwritten rules” and therefore incapable of doing my job. Those people (of course) couldn’t be further from being accurate. Not only am I aware of the “unwritten rules”, I through a high-five the day Maxim shredded them because I know them well enough to absolutely detest them.

As many of you know, this is all I’ve ever done with my life – reporting on Baltimore sports teams and bringing some understanding, candor, humor and hopefully thought-provoking banter to a local conversation in our community.

On a good day, I piss you off because I present a fact you don’t agree with or an argument or position in a debate that you dispute.

On my best days I force you to think about your position and offer a well-balanced analysis that makes you see through the Baltimore sports prism in a way that only eyes with 28 years of expertise and a lifetime of dedication to all aspects of local sports issues can bring.

That’s called value. That’s called engagement. That’s called trust. Hopefully, you view it as “expertise.”

That’s why you came to my radio show as “Nasty Nestor” 20 years ago or somehow found WNST AM-1570 or WNST in some capacity along our journey.

I know this because 50,000 of you engage in our community and through our partners via Facebook. More than 11,000 of you are Twitter followers, watching every Orioles, Ravens, Terps, Caps and most other major sports events with our hosts and experts in real time from anywhere your mobile phone gets service. Almost 7,000 have given me your phone number – perhaps the greatest trust other than your credit card number in the universe. And 15,000 of you have trusted us with that other cyber point of contact – your email address – so we can deliver Baltimore’s best morning newspaper e-style via your inbox.

And all the while, hopefully you agree that we’ve respected you as our audience and community and attempted to provide quality programming and web content while living through the inevitable growing pains of morphing from a tiny AM radio station into a web media power by utilizing technology to our advantage.

It’s a privilege for me personally and a labor of love that I’ve dedicated my life – truly and completely – to Baltimore sports media and being an advocate for local fans, businesses, charity and the community.

But here’s where I need your help. Today, I’m asking you to give me a report card on how we’re doing here at WNST.

We’d sincerely appreciate an honest appraisal of the way you use Baltimore sports media in 2012 and the way you view WNST.net, our competitors and, hopefully, some helpful suggestions on ways we could improve what we’re doing.

As an incentive, we’ll take one lucky winner and a friend to exotic Cleveland, Ohio for a weekend of football in November. And we’ll never sell or share your information. So, take a few minutes if you can and perhaps you’ll be our big winner!

Do we suck? Are we awesome? What are we missing? How can we better service you? What do our competitors do that you like? What do you love about WNST? What do you dislike about WNST?

Back when I was covering Baltimore Skipjacks hockey games on the roof of the Baltimore Civic Center and without a deadline in 1986 for The Evening Sun my wildest dreams couldn’t have imagined or predicted where my journalism journey was going to take me to tweeting from my couch in real time to tens of thousands of people in 2012.

It’s no secret to anyone who has adopted a smart phone, tablet or web-enabled device of any kind that real-time information is the new standard for communication. As Tommy Conwell once sang: “There ain’t no

For being a radio station that no one can hear and that no one listens to according to Arbitron, our 2012 Great Baltimore Sports Media Report Card is garning huge hits and many folks trying to win the trip to Cleveland.

The final question on the survey asks: “What would improve WNST.net & AM 1570 in 2013 to make you visit more often?

SO FAR HERE ARE THE RESPONSES:

precisely updated “morning newspaper” Seems like some of the stuff is repeated and not updated

Have Peter write more article, he does a great job with the business of things, but I miss hearing his thoughts in the blogs. Tell Drew to tone it down a bit especially with his predictions, when a game is way in doubt. I understand Nestor dispute with Angelos, but give it a rest. No one is more passionate about Baltimore sports than he is, but saying the same thing over-and-over again gets old. Luke does a great job, I’d like to see him do more Orioles stuff when it conflicts with preseason football though. All-in-all, WNST does a great civic job and love the trips idea, and hope to go on one soon when I get more $$$.

WNST.net: improve some of the functionality. It’s sometimes hard to maneuver through the site when you want to jump from page to page. AM1570: Although I know this can’t happen, signal strength. Also, get better midday talent. I like Drew and Glenn, but Yaffe and Mittermaier are awful (They always have been. I’m still trying to figure out how they have a job). Thyrl is only slightly better.

On air, have to say the loss of Rob and Bob hurt. Drew is solid. Glenn is decent. Can’t handle Thryl…its like he is trying to hard. Web site is good. I probably should really lean on it more than the sun. Old habits i guess.

I turn off the station at 10 a.m. when I am at work. I can not listen to Damon Yaffe.. I want sports information, not negativity and sermons about how the sports world should be and every single thing that is wrong in the sports world and what he would do about it. He may be the worst radio personality ever on WNST. It would be better if you had more expert guests and hear more from the people like Alan Mcallum. Sometimes, the ramblings of callers gets a little old on WNST. If I wanted to hear average fans opinions about what happened in yesterday’s game or what the Orioles should do tonight, I could just listen to my co- workers . Thanks

If you were Live&Local weekend mornings, while the other “Sports Talk” stations run info ads, you’de Kill It! I know there are different shows different times during the yr, I miss the concept of a 52 week SatAM “Ravens!” show…where the 1st caller every week was from Cali!

I know this is something you hear a lot but it bears repeating: Due to the times I can listen to the radio (and I don’t have a smartphone with the apps) which is in the car, WNST’s signal makes it tough to listen to the station. Don’t worry though, in Westminster 105.7 the Fan gets constant interference as well, in fact during the day 1570 has a clearer signal.

In regards to Twitter and Facebook, nothing. Nobody touches WNST when it comes to Twitter and Facebook. My only complaint about WNST. net is the fact that the webpage is a little cluttered. It is not something that prevents me from checking the website daily but I do find it to be a little cluttered which I think can be a distraction for some visitors.

Your website is poorly designed. I would look at making the site more visually appealing. It has all the basics, just could be so much better. SI.com is a great example of what a sports page should look like.

On air- less of those stupid top 10 lists and more talk on Mondays about Ravens as opposed to golf or other NFL teams. On line more Blogs by on air hosts maybe multiple times a day as needed with breaking sports news.

What really makes me against WNST(I only listen to Drew) is the trashing of EVERY other media entity in the area. It just is disgusting to keep hearing the same old mantra of “they suck” and we are the experts. The trashing of the O’s management(it’s personal, not business) is just so old. The hypocrisy of making note of other hosts “from some other town” and not Baltimore and yet having a constant stream of “out of town” experts to comment on Baltimore sports???? It just doesn’t fit what you proclaim as your model as LOCAL. Being proud of “firing” people is just so low brow and classless. That they are able to secure jobs on your competitors should be a testament to the training they get from the station… not a talking point that the other station sucks. You can look at your station as a good training ground for the Major Leagues. I know the radio business(as an advertiser, salesman for media and printed critic) and no matter what is stated, the station is widely considered MINOR. I can never stomach people who speak ill of competition, it is so juvenile and speaks to a inherent weakness of where it comes from. So how in good conscious can I believe that Honesty, Integrity are really the bedrocks of your mission? Trashing other people and companies does not garner a sense of Integrity. And I may be an older skew for what is sports talk radio today, but I could care less about “breaking news”, I don’t need to be aware of EVERYTHING happening at every moment. Part of the problem with our “plugged in” society is everyone looking at their phones 24/7. Speaks to the incivility, rudeness and narcissism of our time. Watch what is going around you and not your phone, catching up on the news(either on the web or TV) is something that I enjoy. Don’t need to know things before everyone else.

I think you already do a great job. The only complaint I have is the TuneInRadio stream is unreliable. Don’t know if it’s the app or what, but since I can’t tune you guys in on the radio before sunrise, I depend on the stream.

More articles related to the Orioles, I feel this year that with the team being a winner for the first time in 14 years that the blogs related to the Orioles are lacking while anything dealing with the Ravens is written almost daily during September and even months prior to that.

WNST.net—more timely info. Some headlines stay up for days (NHL lockout enters 2nd day). Also, some late scores are not available in various sports–especially baseball. Improve on the quality of the links. Too many times I have a link go somewhere other than the headline notes.

Live streaming from your weekly shows , catching it next day is good but would be nice to catch it during event , Dennis Pitta show in Perry Hall is a good example I saw on Facebook that it was packed and so I got in my car and went the bad part is they wouldn’t let me in due to size of place anyway it would have been Kool to catch the show as it was happening ..

Too much time on small local college sports but I understand the reasoning. I would like more national major sports news discussed instead – I turn off certain very bad callers – you figure it out. My listenting habits are mainly opening of shows where I get good summary and commentary on the game by the hosts but then turn off when i hear most opinions by listeners – prefer to hear “experts” so I turn on ESPN or certian 105.7 hosts that I thinka re very knowledgeable. For example I lover Billick segmnets and segments with out of town reporters/broadcasters etc.

Even though I understand the situation with the Orioles ….Sometimes the constant trashing can get to be to much. I do like that you dont just say what homer fans want to hear though. Also during the interviews with players/coaches after the games 1570 asks the best questions. Some outlets are embarrassing with stupid questions to athletes.

If it’s possible to improve on what you already do better than anyone else, is to continue to be very local. Your station makes a person feel like they are not just a listener, but a personal friend. This is so rare today in radio and nobody does it better than WNST.

More web content. Better writers/more research done to support opinions (like drew’s blog about the nationals suing the orioles. One of the most informative peices I’ve read). MOst of the time bloggers just spout their opinions with ZERO RESEARCH done.

You have got to get a section for the Wizards going!!!!!!!!!!! I love WNST but the only problem is that it acts like the wiz don’t even exist!!! Meanwhile they pay alot of attention to the Capitals, a team which has never played in Baltimore, while denying the former and still close to home Baltimore Bullets!!! I know many people who see this as the only glaring problem with WNST, other than that great job. But seriously guys let get some Wiz coverage Baltimore is a hotbed for future NBA players and its a shame to see the number one name in Baltimore sports not even covering our own NBA team. Just need a section for the Wizards and WNST will be pure Bmore sports perfection.

You have got to get a section for the Wizards going!!!!!!!!!!! I love WNST but the only problem is that it acts like the wiz don’t even exist!!! Meanwhile they pay alot of attention to the Capitals, a team which has never played in Baltimore, while denying the former and still close to home Baltimore Bullets!!! I know many people who see this as the only glaring problem with WNST, other than that great job. But seriously guys let get some Wiz coverage Baltimore is a hotbed for future NBA players and its a shame to see the number one name in Baltimore sports not even covering our own NBA team. Just need a section for the Wizards and WNST will be pure Bmore sports perfection.

My only complaint about WNST is Drew held a contest a few yrs ago for kids to wire a survey about their favorite teacher and he would give them free tickets to an O’s gm. Well she did it and was excited but she never got to go. This was about 3 or 4 yrs ago. Every time she hears his voice she remembers. Other then that no issues with the station.

I liked the top of the hour national sports news updates but realize that WNST is no longer affiliated with SNR(yahoo!radio) or FoxSportsRadio. Also, wish you could find weekend programming that actually sticks. Otherwise, bravo on jobs well done.

The radio has got to get better hosts. First Nestor took off to handle admin stuff, then Jeremy, Haynie, Long and Ray were gone. After Drew in the AM I shut the station off until the next day. If Drew ever left I would never listen again.

Nestor, I grew up in Severna Park and went to college at UVA. I’m 46 years old. In 1994 I moved to Baltimore County. I want to thank you. I feel like you and your station introduced me to the customs and culture of Baltimore. I have never stopped listening. I applaud you for keeping Angelos honest. I listen in the car driving to work every morning for Ravens coverage. Keep innovating.

Difficult to address but the radio signal strength on west side of baltimore is frustrating and is primary reason I tune out. Website has so much content difficult to quickly consume. Occasionally hosts pet peeves become repetitive.

Usually with the station i just get out of signal range and cannot hear it anymore when i want to listen. In terms of social media and social media interaction its top notch and the website is top notch. Its the only station in town where you know you can take trips to see Baltimore teams on the road and that is fantastic as a fan. I feel like even though the Orioles are doing well the station still wants to beat the team up at times and i get that i truly do but it turns you off as a fan. I also get the chest out we are the best mindset, any person in any field should have it , but that as well becomes a bit trying after awhile as a listener and supporter. Other than that its the best in town for Baltimore sports and keep up the fantastic work.

Considering I am an avid listener to the program and follower via twitter, facebook, ustream, you name it. WNST is by far greater than any other media outlet in town. With that said, I know Nestor and company are always looking for ways to grow. So I will provide a few suggestions… Since I work 8-5 I rarely get to listen live although I do one my way to work tune into Drew and Luke. But, I am on the audio vault MORE than anyone. It is by far one of my favorite features and I love the “search” tool. Having said that, I would suggest if possible to keep even older links in the audio vault. I know time to time I like to show friends and family certain encounters that may have happened a while back that no longer are available on the audio vault. Maybe a “Best of Drew” or “Best of Glenn” section could work or just keeping old old links. For example, I would like to hear the Angelos interview that you guys play frequently, but I can’t find that if I search “Peter Angelos” in the audio vault. Overall, WNST does a fantastic job. Whether its the text service, the knowledge of sports talk hosts, the MANY trips Nestor puts together to various sporting events. Its just fantastic and I couldn’t be happier or luckier to have grown up all these years listening to WNST. I am 23 years old and i have been waking up running to turn on WNST on my way to Pikesville High School, I even got my New York roommates at College Park enjoying WNST with me. Thanks Nestor and crew for all the great coverage you provide to all Baltimore fans around the world. Keep up the good work. -Sam Bruck

Expand the time given to Damon and Paul program, give less time to Thryl. Damon and Paul are a strong follow-up to Drew in the a.m. Only my opinion but I listen ALMOST everyday, even when out of town. The website is the best in town, not even close.. The content is legit, but the design could improve somewhat. Anyone who is not subscribed to the text service is missing out. Will be honest, I jump over to Haynie often, Dude is the best in my opinion. Drew is fantastic and a step up over the clowns on the FM side in the a.m. He owns the morning as far as I can tell.

Improved nighttime signal, but you know that. I liked Haynie, but I know that was tough. Liked him better on your station than on WJZ. Website design could be better. Sometimes content hard to find. You’re doing fine overall–I love that you’re locally owned–so rare in radio.

TOWSON, Md. – With the introduction of the Towson Sports Network on TowsonTigers.com and the planned digital broadcasts of Towson sporting events, Towson University Athletics will be continuing its partnership with WNST to extend its coverage with weekly live interviews and the station’s social media reach, the Department announced today.

WNST and Towson have signed a one-year agreement that will bring Towson head coaches and student-athletes to the station’s morning airwaves several times a week with previews, recaps, and student-athlete interviews. During the football season head coach Rob Ambrose will appear twice weekly during the 7-8 a.m. hour on Tuesdays and Fridays as he recaps the previous week’s game on Tuesday and the previews the next game on Friday. Men’s basketball coach Pat Skerry, women’s basketball coach Joe Mathews, men’s lacrosse coach Shawn Nadelen, women’s lacrosse coach Sonia LaMonica and women’s gymnastics coach Vicki Chliszczyk will also make regular weekly appearances during their seasons.

In addition to the regular radio appearances on WNST, Towson will be featured throughout the station’s social media outreach with the “Morning Roar” from Towsontigers.com appearing in the WNST Morning e-Newspaper (sign up here) and additional coverage on WNST’s Twitter and Facebook.

“In the last two years at Towson we have made a strong commitment to developing our new website and social media portals,” said Senior Associate Director of Athletics for External Operations Michael Harris. “With continued strategic partnerships like the one we have with WNST, we are able to provide our fan base with enhanced information leading up to our expanded game programming.”

Twitter and Facebook have become two the most popular social media websites in the world. This has created a whole new culture that everyone using them must adapt to and athletes are no different. Twitter and Facebook create more of a personal connection with fans and athletes have to learn the hard way how to properly use these social media websites.

Perhaps the biggest way social media has changed sports is the marketing opportunities that now exist.

Before social media, players might not receive the same endorsement opportunities they now have.

Currently, there are 5,550 athletes around the world that own a Twitter account. American Football has the most athletes with 1,540 and Tennis has the least with 126. Although American Football has the most athletes on Twitter, none of them are nearly as popular on Twitter as a soccer or tennis player might be. In fact, Chad Ochocinco is the only NFL player of the top athletes that are followed on Twitter.

So why is this significant when it comes to marketing strategies? In an interview with former Baltimore Raven long snapper Matt Katula from 2010, Katula shared with me the marketing strategies athletes are now using. “With the NFL, because we wear helmets, most of our faces aren’t very recognizable,” Katula said. “Sure, there are stars on every team that are recognized. But do you ever notice how many NFL guys are on TV ads? Not many. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, and only a handful of others. Because of this fact, Chad is using social media sites to make himself more recognizable to the everyday fan.”

Matt Katula (left) has played for the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, and Minnesota Vikings. Source: baltimoresun.com

Because Tennis players don’t have any equipment getting in the way of their face, they become more recognizable to the everyday fan and are therefore more marketable.

So what was media like for athletes before social media? How do former athletes feel about social media? Former Washington Redskin defensive end Todd Liebenstein shares his thoughts below.

So how can organizations cut down on distractions social media creates? I think you have to educate athletes on proper use of social media. It sounds cliché but in the end, social media is relatively new and athletes must learn on the fly about proper use of social media.

Perhaps you’re not familiar with WNST.net MLB analyst Allen McCallum. Allen was once the Ballpark Reporter at WNST, covering the Baltimore Orioles on a daily basis. He’s remained with us in the years since then, appearing once a week in studio (currently with Thyrl Nelson on “The Mobtown Sports Beat”) to talk Major League Baseball and Baltimore Orioles.

Allen is a really good dude, but is decidedly un-American in my book. You see, Allen doesn’t like football. I don’t understand it either, trust me. I have every reason to believe he celebrates the 4th of July and enjoys a good slice of Apple Pie, but he loves baseball and just doesn’t care about our national pastime.

Despite this obvious flaw, I’ve maintained a level of friendship and (as much as is possible for someone who I have to imagine may be a communist) respect for Allen. I don’t dislike him, I just don’t understand how someone like him can exist in this country. You see, football is our beautiful game. It’s a game fathers play in the backyard with sons. Baseball is okay when there aren’t real sports to watch, but is clearly inferior to football in every way.

I’m kidding. Well I’m kidding a LITTLE bit anyway.

The reason my lede is about our resident purveyor of Orange Kool-Aid is because Allen likes to make a point during the course of baseball season that is relevant to both sports. As Birds fans have a tendency to freak out over the results of a couple of games (or one game…or a couple of innings…or a single at-bat), Allen likes to send out a reminder that “this isn’t football. There’s 162 games to be played.”

It hasn’t always been good news in Charm City that the O’s have to play 162 games, but the point he makes is relevant. During Ravens season we tend to overreact to one particular game, but we do that knowing that one game reflects roughly six percent of the season. While a NFL team can certainly recover from a stretch of two or three bad games, a bad streak can quickly spiral into killing a quarter of a football season. At the same time, a bad streak of three or four games during baseball season does not even represent the same six percent of the season that one football game represents.

Let me try to step away from math for a second. A single football game is more significant than a single baseball game. But you already knew that.

Seven days ago (which as I type this would have been June 4), there was reason for great concern amongst Baltimore baseball fans. After getting off to a 27-14 start, the Birds were mired in a streak that saw them drop 10 of 13 games. Sitting at 30-24, the Birds had appeared to already be well into their annual “June swoon” and seemed destined to find themselves on their way to the cellar of the AL East.

But something funny happened in the six games that followed. Instead of continuing their free fall, the Birds stabilized. They won two of three against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, then returned home to take two dramatic extra inning contests against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in front of thousands of stunned supporters who had made their way down I-95 from The City of Brotherly Love.

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2012 – The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced Peter Baum of Colgate University and Katie Schwarzmann of the University of Maryland as the winners of the 12th annual Tewaaraton Award, presented Thursday at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and top female college lacrosse players in the United States.

Colgate didn’t enter the season on the national radar, but Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Peter Baum ensured the Raiders quickly emerged as contenders. Baum took off after an early-season move to attack and terrorized defenses with his hybrid style. The nation’s scoring leader broke eight school and conference records and led Colgate’s second-ranked offense to a school-record 14 wins and its first-ever NCAA tournament victory.

The Portland, Ore., native is the first men’s Tewaaraton finalist and winner from west of the Mississippi, and the first in Colgate history. The junior ended the season with 97 points (67 g, 30 a), tying Duke’s Matt Danowski (2008) for the most ever by a men’s Tewaaraton finalist.

The winner of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award for Outstanding Player of the Year, Baum was also named to the USILA All-America first team and earned All-Patriot League, All-Patriot League Tournament (tournament-record 18 points) and Academic All-Patriot League honors. His 5.39 points per game and 3.72 goals per game both led the country.

Baum currently ranks second in Colgate and Patriot League history with 130 career goals and fifth in program history with 176 career points. His 67 goals and 97 points this season rank sixth and 13th all-time in NCAA history. He is the first Patriot League representative and the seventh attackman to receive the men’s Tewaaraton Award.

A returning finalist in her junior season, Katie Schwarzmann continued to make her mark in Maryland’s record book. The ACC Offensive Player of the Year was a threat between the lines and ruled the fast break. Schwarzmann finished 2012 first in the ACC and second nationally in goals (72), while ranking second on the Terrapins in points (94), ground balls (31), draw controls (52) and caused turnovers (17).

A three-time Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-American and three-time All-ACC performer, Schwarzmann was a member of the 2011-12 U.S. women’s national team. The Sykesville, Md., native joins Jen Adams (2001) and Caitlyn McFadden (2010) as the Terps’ Tewaaraton winners.

Schwarzmann scored in every game this season and boasted eight games with five or more points. Her 72 goals ranked fifth in Maryland single-season history. The ACC Championship Most Valuable Player tallied a tournament-record 11 goals in three games while leading the Terrapins to a fourth straight ACC crown. She was also named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team.

Schwarzmann is the fifth women’s Tewaaraton winner in ACC history, the third women’s winner from the state of Maryland and the eighth midfielder to receive the Tewaaraton award on the women’s side.

“Every year, there are 10 worthy candidates and it is a credit to Peter and Katie that they have been recognized as the most outstanding players this year,” said Jeffrey Harvey, chairman of The Tewaaraton Foundation. “We are thrilled to have them join this elite list of those who have received the Tewaaraton Award.”

The five men’s finalists were Baum, Duke University midfielder CJ Costabile, University of Massachusetts attackman Will Manny, Loyola University attackman Mike Sawyer and University of Virginia attackman Steele Stanwick.

The five women’s finalists were Schwarzmann, University of Florida midfielder Brittany Dashiell, University of North Carolina attacker Becky Lynch, Northwestern University midfielder Taylor Thornton and Syracuse University attacker Michelle Tumolo.

Finalists were selected from a pool of 25 men’s and 25 women’s nominees. The selection committees are comprised of 12 men’s and 10 women’s current and former college coaches.

For more information on the Tewaaraton Award, visit www.tewaaraton.com. Like and follow The Tewaaraton Foundation at www.facebook.com/tewaaraton and www.twitter.com/tewaaraton.

About The Tewaaraton Foundation

First presented in 2001 at the University Club of Washington DC, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. Endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and US Lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse’s centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. The Tewaaraton Foundation ensures the integrity and advances the mission of this award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Iroquois descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, visit www.tewaaraton.com.

The University of Maryland is making some changes to the playing surface at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium in College Park. This much we know for sure.

How much more we don’t fully know yet. I reached out to a spokesperson at the school and was told this…

“Construction has started on a new surface at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. The project is being funded with private donations and will be completed in time for the upcoming season. Further details will be available soon.”

Via Facebook/Twitter/message boards, a rumored look at what the field could look like has been making the rounds…

I have to stress that this is only a RUMOR at this point. I’ve poked around with a few other sources in College Park and have received responses like “I’m pretty sure there’s going to be turtle shells on the field” and “they’ve definitely talked about changing the color of the field.”

The most famous football field perhaps in the world belongs to Boise State University, as Bronco Stadium’s blue turf would be recognized just about anywhere…

BSU isn’t the only school to do something significant with their turf. Eastern Washington University’s Roos Field is known as “The Inferno” thanks to this color…

The NFL has actually implemented a “Boise State rule” preventing teams from changing turf colors from the traditional green.

The Terrapins would not be making their first cry for attention, as they garnered PLENTY of buzz on Labor Day last year when they introduced these Under Armour duds in a win over Miami…

For the record, I don’t much care what the Terps wear or what kind of field they play on. As I told former Maryland/Baltimore Ravens CB Domonique Foxworth in an interview last year, if the Terps were competing for a BCS Championship I’d sign off on them wearing Duke uniforms for the game.

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 – Two men’s and four women’s Tewaaraton Award finalists will compete at the NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse championships this weekend in Foxborough, Mass., and Stony Brook, N.Y., respectively.

The Tewaaraton Foundation will announce the award’s 12th annual winners May 31 at the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Senior midfielder C.J. Costabile (New Fairfield, Conn.) picked up 15 groundballs and won 14-of-20 face offs as No. 3 Duke advanced to the final four with a convincing 17-6 win over Colgate, marking the program’s sixth consecutive championship weekend appearance. With two ground balls in Saturday’s semifinal game against Maryland, Costabile will become the nation’s ground ball leader.

Junior attackman Mike Sawyer (Waxhaw, N.C.) scored his 51st goal of the season in Loyola’s 10-9 victory over Denver as the top-seeded Greyhounds advanced to their first NCAA final four since 1998, where they will face No. 4 Notre Dame. With the goal, Sawyer set a Loyola single-season record, eclipsing the 50 scored by Tim Goettelmann in 2000.

Junior midfielder Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) led Florida’s balanced offense with three goals and two assists in a 15-2 quarterfinal win over Penn State. The top-seeded Gators, who will next face No. 4 Syracuse, are the second program in the 30-year history of the NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament to advance to the final four in only its third season.

Junior midfielder Katie Schwarzmann (Sykesville, Md.) racked up a career-high eight points (4 g, 4 a) in No. 3 Maryland’s 17-11 defeat of in-state opponent Loyola while adding seven draw controls and playing suffocating defense on the Greyhound’s top scorer, Marlee Paton. The Terrapins have reached the national semifinals in each of Schwarzmann’s three seasons and four consecutive seasons overall.

Junior midfielder Taylor Thornton (Dallas, Texas) turned in a solid all-around performance in No. 2 Northwestern’s 12-7 win over Duke, grabbing four ground balls, causing three turnovers and winning two draws to go along with one goal. Thornton and the Wildcats have advanced to their eighth consecutive national semifinals and will face Maryland in a rematch of the last two national title games.

Junior attacker Michelle Tumolo (Mullica Hill, N.J.) led No. 4 Syracuse to a thrilling 17-16 comeback win against North Carolina. Tumolo recorded a team-leading four goals and five points, including the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining in regulation. Tumolo saved her best work for the game’s final three minutes, rallying the Orange from a two-goal deficit and notching two goals, an assist and a crucial forced turnover. Tumolo and Syracuse will make their second final four appearance in three years.

The five women’s finalists are Dashiell, Schwarzmann, Thornton, Tumolo and North Carolina attacker Becky Lynch.

The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and top female college lacrosse player in the United States. Finalists were selected from a pool of 25 men’s and 25 women’s nominees. The selection committees are comprised of 12 men’s and 10 women’s current and former college coaches.

For more information on the Tewaaraton Award or to attend the ceremony, visit www.tewaaraton.com. Like and follow The Tewaaraton Foundation at www.facebook.com/tewaaraton and www.twitter.com/tewaaraton.

About The Tewaaraton Foundation

First presented in 2001 at the University Club of Washington DC, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. Endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and US Lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse’s centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. The Tewaaraton Foundation ensures the integrity and advances the mission of this award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Iroquois descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, visit www.tewaaraton.com.